Executive Match Summary & Scoreboard
Rangers 5-2 Celtic Women was the final score in an SWPL derby. It swung from one side to the other before Rangers pulled clear in the closing stages. Celtic’s unbeaten start to the season came to an end. Rangers preserved their perfect domestic record for another week.
Maria McAneny gave Celtic an early lead. Jodi McLeary’s double turned the contest around before the interval. Chloe Arthur levelled again after the break. A costly mistake handed Rangers the initiative once more. Further goals from Hannah Blake, Katie Wilkinson and Calliste Brookshire completed the rout.
The result extends a miserable head-to-head record for Celtic, who have won only once in their last 13 meetings with Rangers across all competitions. Anyone who read our recent derby analysis will know how heavily that history weighed on this fixture. It showed again once the game opened up.
It also follows a difficult spell for the wider club, with our earlier report covering another derby defeat this month. Two goals from Celtic simply were not enough on the day, and Rangers were the more clinical side from start to finish.
For a team that had gone unbeaten in every previous outing this season, this was a hard afternoon to take. Celtic will point to spells where they matched Rangers. A result this one sided leaves little room for debate. It is a scoreline that demands a response, and quickly, given how often this fixture has gone against them in recent years.
Detailed First Half Narrative
Celtic made the perfect start. Poppy Lawson found space out wide and delivered a dangerous cross. Maria McAneny rose above her marker to head the ball beyond the Rangers goalkeeper. It gave Celtic a lead that few inside the ground had expected against a Rangers side chasing a perfect record.
That advantage did not last long. Rangers responded through Jodi McLeary, who found the net twice before the interval. Turning the contest on its head. Her double put Rangers 2-1 ahead at the break. Celtic’s early confidence drained away almost as quickly as it had arrived.
McLeary’s finishing set the tone for the rest of the afternoon. Celtic had shown real quality to score first through McAneny. The delivery from Lawson was excellent. Rangers’ response exposed how quickly this fixture can change. It also showed why their domestic form has been so consistent this season.
Celtic went in at half-time, still very much in the derby, trailing by a single goal despite having led. The manner of the two Rangers goals hinted at problems that would resurface after the restart. A one-goal deficit at the break was hardly disastrous. It did ask serious questions of how Celtic would respond once the second half began.
There was still enough for Celtic to build on. McAneny’s header had shown they could hurt Rangers from wide areas. Lawson’s role in the opener suggested the width was there if Celtic wanted to use it again. The task at the interval was simple. Find a way back level without repeating the defensive lapses that had let McLeary in twice.
Detailed Second Half Narrative & Drama
Celtic did not fold after falling behind. Chloe Arthur dragged them level again, finishing well to make it 2-2 and giving her side real hope of taking something from the derby. For a spell, Celtic looked capable of settling the game on their own terms.
Then came the moment that changed everything. Arthur gave the ball away in a dangerous area. Rangers punished the error almost instantly through Hannah Blake. Restoring Rangers’ lead at 3-2. It was a cruel swing for a player who had just pulled her side level.
Rangers were not finished there. Katie Wilkinson curled home a free kick to make it 4-2. A goal good enough to prompt Leanne Crichton into an animated reaction afterwards. “If you can’t celebrate Old Firm goals. I don’t know what in the world you can celebrate,” she said, quoted in the Daily Record report on the derby.
Calliste Brookshire completed the scoring soon after to make it five, sealing a result that few Celtic supporters will want to watch back. Rangers 5-2 Celtic Women is now the story of this derby. It leaves Celtic with plenty to correct before the sides meet again.
The turnaround from 2-2 to 5-2 came inside a short spell of the second half. It summed up the gap between the sides on the day. Celtic had done the hard part by getting back level, only to concede three times without reply once the momentum shifted back toward Rangers. It is that swing, more than any single goal, that will sting most once the dust settles.
Player Ratings: Celtic Women
Maria McAneny 7/10: Gave Celtic the perfect start with a firm header from Poppy Lawson’s cross, finding the net inside the opening exchanges. Her movement created the space for the chance, and it stood as Celtic’s best moment of an otherwise difficult afternoon in the derby.
Poppy Lawson 7/10: The cross for McAneny’s opener was precise and well timed, showing good awareness out wide at a crucial moment. Lawson’s delivery gave Celtic the early platform they needed, even if the rest of the match did not go their side’s way from there.
Chloe Arthur 5/10: A mixed afternoon summed up by two big moments. Arthur’s composed finish brought Celtic level at 2-2, but she then gave the ball away in a costly area moments later, handing Rangers the chance to score again through Hannah Blake almost immediately.
Arthur’s afternoon is the one Celtic supporters will replay most. The finish for 2-2 was proof she can influence a derby at the top level. Had it stood as the final word, it would rank among her best moments in this fixture. Instead, the giveaway that followed turned a personal high into a collective setback. It is the kind of moment that separates a hard-fought draw from a heavy defeat.
The rest of Celtic’s squad did not feature in the passages of play that decided this derby. The wider group will need to respond quickly after such a damaging afternoon against their fiercest rivals. A five-goal margin against Rangers is rare even by the standards of this fixture. It is one that Celtic’s coaching staff will want addressed before the two sides meet again.
Player Ratings: Rangers Women
Jodi McLeary 8/10: The standout performer of the first half. Her double turned a losing position into a 2-1 lead by the break, and her movement in behind Celtic’s defence caused problems throughout the opening 45 minutes of the derby.
Hannah Blake 7/10: Alert enough to punish Arthur’s error immediately, restoring Rangers’ lead at 3-2 within moments of Celtic’s equaliser. Her composed finish showed exactly the sharpness Rangers needed at a pivotal stage of a tense derby afternoon.
Katie Wilkinson 8/10: Curled home a free kick to make it 4-2, a goal good enough to draw a public reaction from Leanne Crichton after the final whistle. It capped a fine team performance from Rangers in the closing stages.
Calliste Brookshire 7/10: Added the fifth goal to complete the scoring, rounding off a dominant second half display from Rangers and extending their perfect start to the domestic season at Celtic’s expense.
Between them, McLeary, Blake, Wilkinson and Brookshire accounted for all five Rangers goals. Eeach arrived at a different stage of the contest. That spread of scorers, first half and second, open play and set piece, is a large part of why Rangers remain unbeaten domestically and why this head to head record continues to favour them so heavily over Celtic.
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